The air navigation operators of these countries have been able to reduce the distances flown by aircraft in the airspace of the region. Finavia Corporation has been a key operator in the Borealis project which the European Commission regards as a pioneer project in the whole of Europe.
During the chairmanship of Finavia, Raine Luojus, head of Finavia's air navigation services, was able to significantly develop the Free Route Airspace.
“Finnish air navigation services have significantly led the development of the effective airspace. The countries of the North European airspace block, i.e. Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, adopted the Free Route Airspace in November 2015. The transfer to the Free Route Airspace was preceded by the standardisation of working and operating methods and systems between the countries. It is wonderful that the European Commission has recognised the results of our hard work. This is an important recognition of our expertise as we have been one of the pioneers that have set up new practices, significantly improving the efficiency of air traffic in the Nordic,” Raine Luojus says.
The EU award was given at the World ATM Congress in Madrid on 8 March. Finavia's representatives were among those who received the award.
Background
Through its Single European Sky regulation, the objective of the EU is to improve the efficiency of the use of airspace throughout Europe. The EU is targeting significant cost savings because, currently, airspace management in Europe is much more ineffective than it is in the United States. A single airspace enables, among other things, more direct routes, shorter travel times and lower fuel consumption.
In addition to the North European airspace block, the Borealis project covers Iceland, Ireland and the UK. The air navigation services of these countries serve a total of 3.8 million annual flights in an airspace of 12.5 million square kilometres.
The objective of the project is to build a Free Route Airspace between all countries involved by 2021. A single European airspace is the objective of future years.
